About Herita

HERITA

Herita’s aim is to make everyone, young or old, enthusiastic about our heritage. Historic sites tell us so much about the past and the present day. They also bring people closer together. Herita makes sure that everyone can enjoy these monuments and heritage sites. Now and into the future. By throwing open the door to these important parts of our history and transforming them into places filled with amazing experiences and wonder. With Heritage Day as the year’s biggest and best celebration of our heritage. Not just on that day, but every day!

WHAT IS HERITA?

Herita is a non-profit membership and network association that brings people together and supports them, focusing on heritage at its core. Herita is dedicated to a world in which everyone is able to experience and enjoy our heritage. Herita is also the organising force behind the annual Heritage Day.

VISION: WHAT DOES HERITA AIM TO ACHIEVE?

Herita seeks to create a broader community base and support for heritage matters – to make more people aware of our wonderful heritage and engage them in promoting it. To make that aim come true, Herita wants to open up as many heritage sites as possible for as many people as possible. Herita seeks to transform bricks and mortar and stone into a genuine experience, to give true meaning to heritage. Only then can the organisation grow to become a big heritage family with thousands of members.

MISSION: TO MAKE EVERY DAY HERITAGE DAY

Every year, Heritage Day creates huge enthusiasm and encourages thousands of people, including the young, to visit heritage sites. Herita is convinced that we can reach this audience of potential heritage visitors all year round: by informing more people about our amazing heritage riches and ensuring that the heritage experience appeals to young and old alike. And by being a focal point where heritage sites and visitors can find one another. Every day is Heritage Day: that is Herita’s goal.

MAIN DIRECTIONS

Heritage development

Herita manages 10 heritage sites in Flanders. We elaborate our own conservation and audience development strategy, work with external operators and design and accomplish cooperation models considering the economic, social and heritage values. Our vision starts from the premise that we want to bring heritage and people closer together. In each site development project we reconsider public spaces to strengthen the sense of community. We want to reinforce the social dimension of a site, strengthening the public sphere. This way of looking at heritage is quite unique in Flanders, we are pioneering in including this social dimension in development projects.

Open Heritage Site Network

Herita is also busy developing a broad Open Heritage Site Network. Our aim is to open as many heritage sites as possible to the public and bring what they have to offer to a wider audience. By doing so, Herita will become a platform for the astonishing range of heritage attractions in Flanders. Our partners in the Open Heritage Site Network can also count on an extensive, shared offering of expertise and support in relation to opening up heritage sites and conducting public activities: inspiration dossiers, specific sector-related opportunities, an annual Open Heritage Site congress and tailored consultancy. Herita seeks to become an exchange platform for knowledge, expertise and inspiration – a platform that brings together people who have the same needs and passions.

Membership association

In April 2015, Herita introduced an individual private membership programme. This is the way that Herita aims to provide more people with information, imbue them with enthusiasm for heritage sites and enable them to experience them for themselves. We share interesting heritage stories with our members, inviting them to attend heritage activities and enabling them to enjoy the rich and extraordinary array of monuments, archaeological sites, landscapes and nautical heritage on offer in Flanders.